A United Nations mission arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday, Azerbaijan said, after almost the entire ethnic-Armenian population fled since Baku recaptured the breakaway enclave.
A spokesperson for the Azerbaijani government told AFP that a United Nations group came to Karabakh on Sunday morning. They came mainly to see what help people there might need. This is the first time in about 30 years that the United Nations could go to that area.
The people in Karabakh, who wanted to separate from Armenia and had control there for 30 years, agreed to give up their weapons, end their government, and join back with Baku. This happened after Azerbaijan attacked for one day last week.
France criticized Azerbaijan for only letting the UN group in after most of the people had already left.
They believe that these lands have been theirs for a very long time, going back to the Middle Ages. Almost all of the around 120,000 people who lived in Karabakh left in the days that followed, causing a big problem with refugees.
A person who speaks for the leader of Armenia, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said that by Sunday morning, 100,483 people who were forced to leave had come to Armenia. She also mentioned that 45,516 of them were now staying in temporary places.
On Sunday, Armenia had a special day of prayer for the region. Church bells rang all over the country, and the head of the Armenian Church, Karekin II, led a service in the main cathedral called Echmiadzin, which is near the capital, Yerevan. Priests in fancy robes sang very old songs at an outdoor area near the big pinkish-white cathedral.
Many people came to the religious service in the church of Saint Sarkis in Yerevan.
A young woman named Mariam Vartanyan, who is 28 years old, told AFP that a very sad part of Armenian history is happening right now. She was standing with a group of people who were praying, surrounded by the sweet-smelling smoke from burning incense.
A 25-year-old architect named Artur Hayrapetyan said, “I am praying for this terrible situation in Karabakh to come to an end and for Armenia to continue existing.”
Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, has accused Baku, which is the capital of Azerbaijan, of trying to remove a particular ethnic group from Karabakh. Baku said this accusation is not true. They’ve asked Armenians to stay in their homes and rejoin Azerbaijan, where they say their rights will be respected.
Armenia, a country with about 2.8 million people, is facing a big challenge in finding places for all the refugees who suddenly came in.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has asked for 20 million Swiss Francs (about $22 million) to help the people who are running away from the troubled area.
Azerbaijan is having discussions about bringing back together the people who wanted to separate from their government. At the same time, they are keeping some important leaders from the old government and military in custody.
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, are going to meet in Spain to talk with the help of Western mediators. They want to find a way to stop their long-standing conflict.
Because of the deep-seated dislike between the two countries due to their history of fighting, talks organized by Brussels and Washington haven’t been successful yet in finding a solution.
SOURCE:FRANCE24